Being a prepper is about more than hunkering down in the woods and shooting anyone who accidently stumbles upon your property. In fact, that's not being a prepper at all; that's being a paranoid lunatic. When you really break it down, all first time preppers should focus on 20 steps.

1. Take baby steps
Take a deep breath and get started. Do not let your fear or lack of experience overwhelm you. Step in to the mindset and just start. There are lots of encouraging articles and blogs online (see Recommended Sites about half way down this page) in addition to this one to set you on your way.
2. Start out slowly
Don’t worry about the long term. When you are getting started, plan for a 3-day emergency supply. When you have more experience – and more confidence – you can expand to a 7-day, 30-day, or even an annual emergency supply.
3. Plan for a power outage
Pick up some extra flashlights (this Coastal HP1 is one of my favorites), batteries, candles and waterproof matches. Later on, when you have the budget, you can purchase the more esoteric items such as an inverter or generator.
4. Determine the most likely natural event in your area
Do live in a hurricane zone? Then that should be your focus. The same thing applies to tornado, earthquake, flood, and wildfire areas. Live in the city? Perhaps you should prepare for gang violence and civil unrest. You need only look at the riots in Baltimore and Ferguson to see the reality of that particular threat.
5. Create an emergency contact list
Well in advance, prepare a list of emergency contacts for police, fire, doctors, hospitals, and, of course, family members and close friends. Be sure to include telephone numbers, cell phone numbers, and email addresses. There is no guarantee that any one method will work if the emergency is dire.
6. Stockpile as much water as you can and learn to purify the rest
Store as much water as you can. Look for hidden locations in your home where you can store either purchased water or water you have bottled yourself using plastic soda or juice jugs, Water Bricks, or something else.
7. Gather important documents
Obtain copies of your driver’s license, passport, marriage license, emergency contacts, and medical history and keep them somewhere handy so you can grab and go if you have to.
8. Develop a communications and transportation plan
Make a plan that identifies how loved ones will connect with each other in the event there is a natural disaster or other crisis. Come up with a meeting place, and if possible, run a drill or two so you become familiar with the process.
9. Purchase beans and rice and learn how to cook them
Beans and rice are chock-full of calories and, in the case of beans, extremely nutritious. Stock up on dried beans and rice then learn how to cook them off grid, and outdoors over an open fire or rocket stove that you can build yourself.
10. Come up with secondary sanitation solutions
You can stock up on supplies for hand hygiene (this article has all the details – link to hand and surface hygiene article). You can also use kitty litter and a bucket to make a temporary toilet for the family. Daisy Luther explains how in this article called “What to Do When the Toilet Won’t Flush.”
11. Work toward optimal physical fitness
Exercise regularly and stay in shape. This does not mean that you have to be thin. Rather, build up your stamina and strength so that you can perform manual labor for extended periods.
12. Learn basic skills
Take up fishing or hunting. Go camping and learn to build a fire and sleep outdoors. Fire up the barbie and learn to bake bread, steam vegetables, and make pancakes on on open grill or fire. The possibilities are endless plus, you can involve all members of your family while turning basic skill building in to a hobby.
13. Get to know your neighbors
Get to know your neighbors, or, if you live in a remote area, the folks in the surrounding community. These are the folks that will watch your back and help you out if the SHTF and you are really in trouble.
14. Develop a community of like-minded preppers
Regardless of where you live or your family situation, become a community with others. Even if your community consists of only two or three persons, these few people will serve as your support group and sounding board for the tactical decisions you will make when things get tough. In addition, you need at least one other person to watch your back as you will watch theirs.
15. Create a survival library
No one can remember every single detail about every single subject. As practiced and skilled as you may be, there will always be a situation where you either forgot or just plain do not know. Build up a survival library. Binders full of paper are good but so are electronic readers and tablets that can easily be powered using inexpensive solar chargers.
16. Put together a basic bug out bag
Bugging in during a disruptive event is always preferable to bugging out. (Bugging in is often referred to and “hunkering down”. That said, if your home is no longer safe, you may be required to bug out. This does not mean that you will have to flee to the woods.
Bugging out may as simple as retreating to a friend or relative’s home or as complicated as hiking in a storm to the nearest shelter twenty miles a way. Regardless of where you bug out to, you are going to need some basics to help you get by.
17. Practice an evacuation plan
Sometimes a disaster occurs that causes your home to no longer be safe to live in. If this occurs for whatever reason, plan to leave. Map out an evacuation route in advance. Determine two or three different ways to physically exit your home and then two or three ways to find your way out of the immediate area. At least one of the routes should avoid major streets and arterial locations.
18. Plan for comfort foods and amusements
I have taken flak before on this and I will probably continue to be dissed forever on this subject. But, when panic and fear set in, there is nothing like a bag of cookies, some mac and cheese from a box, a juicy paperback and, for kids of all ages, a snuggly teddy bear.
19. Learn the basics of first aid and survival medicine
Put together a comprehensive first aid kit that includes trauma supplies as well as protection gear to keep you safe in the sick room. Acquire extra prescription medications as well as antibiotics and essential oils. Learn about herbal medicine and keep a good book on survival medicine on hand as a reference.
20. Be prepared to defend your home, family and supplies
This is a very unpopular part of preparedness, and it is what causes others to look at us like we’re crazy. But, as unpleasant as it is, in a crisis people can be depended upon to behave badly. And the more desperate they become, the more dangerous they are to you, your family, and your supplies.

According to recent statistics, there are roughly 3 million preppers in the United States. If that sounds like a lot, keep in mind that that's only about 1% of the population. This means that 99% of the population is completely unprepared if worst comes to worst. If that isn't enough of a reason to start taking these 20 steps seriously and start applying them to your life right now, I don't know what is.

For more on this subject and to learn about these steps in further detail, check out Backdoor Survival.